Charles t



gleitet: gisten @anni @Hita CHARLES T.HAnvnY, or TAnnY'roWrr NEW YORK.

Letters Patent IVO. ,65,908,4 dated June 18, 1867.

IMPnovnD stevenen RAILWAY.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, CHARLES THOMPSON HARVEY, of Tarrytown, in the county oi`- Westchester, and in the State of New York, have invented a new and usefullfmprovement in Elevated Railways; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilledin the artto make and use 4the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming part of this speciiication, in which drawing-f Figure 1 is a transverse section of a railway track containing my improvement,

Figure 2 is a side view, a portion of a rail being shown in section.

Figure 3 is a plan view.

This invention `relatesto the construction of the rails ot` elevated railways, and is applicable also to surface railways. It consistsiamong other things in a compound rail possessing great strength; also in means for giving an elastic character to the track for the purpose of'obviating jars from the weight or rapid movement of cars thereon; also in deadening sound and in protecting the joints of the several parts of the compound rail by means of India rubber or equivalent materials. v K

- The track here shown is supported upon columns A, the upper end of one ot' which is seen in the drawing,

said upper end being made with four branches that serve to sustain a frame or platform, E, on which the track,

including the rails, the cable guide, and other parts of the track, rests. The letters H H designate the compound rails of the track. They are composed of upper rails I on which the wheels of a car rest, and of coterminous rail-plates or supports J J, which are interposed between said upper rails and the supporting platform E. The

rail-plates J are composed of two or more strong plates of metal, which may be made ribbed, or otherwise strengthened, set edgewise beneath the rail I, whose bottom flange or tongue K they receive between'them,

, while its lateral ilanges L L rest upon their upper edges, layers of rubber or other suitable packing material, that will deaden sound, being interposed so as to form a noiseless joint and to prevent wear. vFor the purpose of gaining increasedstrength and of preventing the injurious effects of frost in severe climates, on the iron or steel of the several rail-plates and rails, I combine with them, throughout their whole extent, rai-ls, rods, or bars of copper or wood, or other suitable material, which will not be injuriously affected by frost. The letter M designates such rails or bars. In this example I have shown s wooden one in one of the rails, `aud a copper one in the other, the latter being made in the form of a truss, as shown in dotted outline in -g. 2, the highest portion thereof serving as a support to the upper rail I, whose tongue rests on it." Rubber or other suitable packing is also placedbetween thc upper rail I and the wooden or brass 'interior rail to prevent noise. The upper rail I and the lower supplementary rails or rail-plates are securely fastened to formone combined structure by proper bolts, that go through the said rail-plates or supplementary rails land the lower Bange or tongue of the upper rail which is enclosed between them. The rail-plates or supplementaryvrails J may-be further strengthened and stitfened by angleirons extending from one to the other at their lower and also at their upper edges, and such irons may be made of solid plates of equal length with said rails. If such irons are used near their upper edges, their shape must be such as to allow the upper rail I to be suitably secured in place. The wood or brass interior rails are put in place before the angle-irons or plates are fastened to therails. The transverse portion of the platform or cross-frame E has `at its ends upright pieces O, which extend upwards outside of the rail plates and rails a suitable distance, so as to confine and prevent them from spreading, and also to serve as guides to any up-anddown movements they may have. I have only shown such upright vguiding pieces on the outside of the rail-plates, but Vthey can be also used withv advantage on the inner sides, so as to assist the grating or i Boor in preventing. the rails from approaching each other.V The said guides O have vertical slots P,which 'receive pins or screws that are fastened into `the sides of the rail-plates, and prevent them and the rails I from moving endwise, but permit vertical movements. The track is supported on the columns or on the platform E by a yielding support, which in this example I produce iu the following manner Upon the upper surface of said platform I place strong curved elastic plates or springs R R, which extend transversely of the track and beneath it, their ends being turned up outside of the rail-plates so as to clasp them. These elastic plates or springs are used in sumcient numbers and made of sulhcient strength to sustain the weight of the said compound rails, and hold them up clear of the cross-'frame or platform E, or other device intermediate of the rails and the supporting column, when there is no our immediately over them. These springs may be of any suitable form or material that will answer the required purpose, and they may be made strong enough to support the weight of a loaded om'.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by'Letters Patent, is-

I. The combination of the rail-plates or supportswJ J with the rails I and bars M, when constructed and arranged substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth.

2. I also claim the elastic plates or springs R in combination with the rails, constructed und arranged substantially in the manner herein described. I l I 3. I also claim the platform frame E with its upright ends or flanges O, in combination with the rails, constructed and arrnged substantially as herein described.

CHAS. T. HARVEY.

Witnesses:

H. G. HULL, Gusmv BERG. 

